Saturday, May 5, 2012

Fatty's Chinese Fast Food (@ = alias)

is an affordable hole in the wall located in the heart of the Ki-s (Wai-ki-ki), with an open kitchen to watch the chefs fire up their woks. Finding affordable food in Waikiki is a task; not because it doesn't exist, but because there are so many restaurants around, it is difficult for a vacationer or a passing local to sieve through the whole slew.

Let's make this clear, I think Fatty's looks cool, but it's definitely not pretty; Fatty's may not be the choice for folk that appreciate a charming dining facility. I don't have the pictures to prove it, but if and when I do champion inertia, I'll update this post.

Anyways, I walked in to check out their grub and was intrigued but not wowed. It looked like standard Chinese fare, wasn't much of presentation, but it did look more appetizing than Panda Express. I ain't hating on Panda Express, it's just the food at Fatty's looked better. Plus, the price... $4.50 for one starch and one entree! DEALZ! I can't help it, I'm Chinese.

The starch I selected was Chow Mein aka Fried Yellow Noodles and my entree was Ko Lo Yuk AKA Swit Sou Pok @ Sweet n' Sour Pork. I may not have been wowed upon entry, but I was overjoyed when I saw the auntie scoop out my portions. I was in store for a major kanak-attak @ food coma.


$4.50? 4.50?? $4.50?!?! I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wait to go back to the store and feast, but I threw in some Sriracha Chili for good measure. If it tasted as good as it looked, spice would make it better and if didn't taste as good as it looked, spice would make it better; I am my Mom's son.

Once I prepped my video stream, I was ready to partake. The KLY was great. The deep fried pork fritters were packed with the right amount of pork fat and were very flavorful. The sauce wasn't too sweet or too tangy either, so it wasn't over powering. I was also savoring what's known to the Cantonese as Wok Hei; the aroma that could only come from baptizing the food through high heat in a well seasoned wok; much like cooking a rib-eye on a good old cast iron pan.

The Chow Mein was so so though... Just plain old fried yellow noodles, nothing special (Sriracha helped) but the Sweet n Sour Pork was delightful. All in all, if you're looking for a cheap feed in Waikiki, I'd recommend Fatty's. You can't top the price and taste of their food. Till the next post.


Exhibit A
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